What about Giannis? Someone else in this very same thread already posted a link from FIBA itself stating he was born in Greece, lived there his whole life, and was already being processed by Greece to get his passport.

Get his passport, as in meaning that he could then travel to countries outside of Greece, so that he could play in non-Greek tournaments. Or is FIBA not a good enough source for you either?

Wow, imagine that. You don't read Greek, and you can't understand why you can't find anything on it, by searching through ENGLISH Google, using Latin alphabet.

I was able to find a confirmation of Peja's statements (which were on Greek radio) being talked about and confirmed.

The interview confirming Peja's statements is in Greek, you know, since Peja speaks Greek and lives in Greece and all.........the source is Sport24, which is Greece's equivalent of ESPN.

Background and meaning of the article:

This is the head of Greece's national sports system, Giannis Ioannidis, telling what Peja Stojakovic said to him about this issue, of whether he is a Greek or not. It is relating to Peja wanting to play for the Greek national team, and that Adetokoubo and his brother should be allowed to also. Remember, like I said, Peja was eligible to play for Greece, and he wanted to play for Greece, and NOT for Yugoslavia. But he could not, because Greece did not want to have anyone born in war torn Yugoslavia on the team at that time, because it would cause a political controversy, and Greece did not want to get into that. Believe it or not, Canadians, the Yugoslav war was a very politically touchy subject back then. Even if you are so ignorant that you do not know this history, at least use some thinking power to at least grasp why that would be when someone tells it to you.

This comes up as a discussion again in Greece, from the issue that Draftexpress and other US articles make into a controversy, claiming that Giannis Adetkoubo is not really a Greek, and is not really eligible to play for Greece, and so it is the head of Greece's national sports ministry clarifying the issue. Where it is also clarified that Peja IS Greek, just as I have been saying here.

Now, in English: (I added the context in the brackets so non-Greek readers can fully grasp and understand what is being talked about.)

Giannis Ioannidis:

Let me tell you something, I love Stojaković very much, not because he is great, but because he married a Greek, his children are Greek, and he lives in Greece. He said from the beginning that, "Okay, I was born in Croatia, but I gained the most from the Greek culture." When he [Peja] heard, they are not Greeks [referring to Giannis Adetokoubo and his brother Thanasis Adetokoubo, and what comes from US NBA related sports media], he [Peja] came here [refers to Greek sports ministry office], sat down, and said the same things.

I wager you will not have the decency to admit you were wrong, nor to apologize.

And BTW, as much as I am totally Ok with the source you offer, some thigns to note considering how often you call people liars and ignorant:

-First off, you originally quoted Peja. You still have not provided a quote from Peja. It's fine not to have one and to use this as a source of information, but you did misrepresent your information. And yes I realize there is plenty of information regarding Peja's nationality easily available on the internet, but still, how you say things impacts how people expect you to back it up.

-Second, your whole thing originally argued that Giannis has a Greek passport, which HE DOES NOT, but HE DOES EXPECT TO HAVE ONE no problem, as the process has not finished playing out.

Basilis wrote:

ANOTHER BS from draftexpress............my God this poor kid. Draftexpress article ruining every fact about him.

He HAS Greek citizenship. He HAS a Greek passport. This whole thing was already debunked in Greek media weeks ago.

Just some things to keep in mind when you try to discredit people and call them liars.

What about Giannis? Someone else in this very same thread already posted a link from FIBA itself stating he was born in Greece, lived there his whole life, and was already being processed by Greece to get his passport.

Get his passport, as in meaning that he could then travel to countries outside of Greece, so that he could play in non-Greek tournaments. Or is FIBA not a good enough source for you either?

Yes, I accidentally reposted the same article and then apologized to the original poster for not noticing his post. I also noted how that article made out his competition level to be quite low. Of course, I don't expect anything like an apology from you. At this point, I was just hoping you meant it when you said you were leaving the forum. You are not contributing to it in any way.

Did you not read the Nikos Pappas thread? I am not sure if I remember you in that thread or not. Please go read that thread if you did not already. You should see then why some people in this thread started a huge troll against me for no reason, both in that thread, and in this thread.

These are the types of posts that have been made by several people in this thread and in the Nikos Pappas thread:

"No proof anywhere that Peja is Greek".
"Nothing in Google can be found to show Peja is Greek".
"No quotes or sources anywhere claiming Peja is Greek".
"Nothing comes up in any Google searches confirming Peja is Greek."
"Everyone knows Peja is NOT Greek and has NOTHING to do with Greece."
"Peja lived in Serbia his whole life".
"Peja never lived in Greece."
"Peja does not have a Greek wife."
"Peja does not have Greek kids."
"Peja does not live in Greece."
"Peja does not speak Greek."
"Peja did not serve with Greece."
"Peja does not have Greek citizenship."

Okay, show me where in this thread or the Pappas those things have been said. Because I've read through every page, and I have not seen anyone other than you talk about his wife, his kids, what language he speaks, where he's served, and or even what citizenship he has. Total strawman argument.

I think it's an interesting question what really determines someone's national identity, whether it's what passport they have, where they live, where they were born, or what nationality they most identify with. It's totally fine for you as a Greek to identify everyone who has lived in Greece and talked positively about it as Greek. For those of us with an international interest in basketball, the fact that he's played internationally for Yugoslavia is really the most important consideration.

Did you not read the Nikos Pappas thread? I am not sure if I remember you in that thread or not. Please go read that thread if you did not already. You should see then why some people in this thread started a huge troll against me for no reason, both in that thread, and in this thread.

You mean the thread where you said that Pappas was better than "any of those players" and the players listed were, amongst others, Rudy Gay and DeRozan?

You mean the thread where you said comparing Ginobili to Pappas was an insult to Pappas?

You mean the thread where you listed people like Kurt Rambis to prove that there were Greek impact players in the nba?

Any trolling you receive is well deserved. Right now we're only replying because you make it fun.

Okay, show me where in this thread or the Pappas those things have been said. Because I've read through every page, and I have not seen anyone other than you talk about his wife, his kids, what language he speaks, where he's served, and or even what citizenship he has. Total strawman argument.

I think it's what an interesting question what really determines someone's national identity, whether it's what passport they have, where they live, where they were born, or what nationality they most identify with. It's totally fine for you as a Greek to identify everyone who has lived in Greece and talked positively about it as Greek. For those of us with an international interest in basketball, the fact that he's played internationally for Yugoslavia is really the most important consideration.

Yes, I accidentally reposted the same article and then apologized to the original poster for not noticing his post. I also noted how that article made out his competition level to be quite low. Of course, I don't expect anything like an apology from you. At this point, I was just hoping you meant it when you said you were leaving the forum. You are not contributing to it in any way.

The competition is not low for the point of this that were are talking about here. I have already explained this here. It's low by Euroleague standards. It's low by NBA standards. It's low by Greek standards. It's low by top FIBA standards in Europe like FIBA EuroBasket.

OK, this is what they mean when they say "low competition". Now, I am going to try to explain this another time, in as simple and easy to grasp way I know how, because although I have tried already to explain it in a clear manner, it seems the points are not getting through -

So I will try a simple way. It is lower than those above standards, which are elite basketball standards on a world scale. Alright, I hope you are with me so far...

However, it is definitely, absolutely, 100% positively NOT low, on the standard of NCAA Division I and NBA D-League. It is indeed a HIGH LEVEL competition against THAT standard. The point being, we are talking about the NBA draft, and comparing to other players that play in NCAA competition.

So he is NOT playing against "low level" competition at all as compared to what the NCAA players play against. He's playing HIGH level competition by that standard. Since we are talking about a draft prospect and comparing him to other draft prospects, that is the point and comparison to be used.

I hope that this makes it clear for you. I do not not know how else to explain it if you still do not understand.

I wouldn't go so far as asking for a source being a xenophobe or a racist.. If there was a link that showed that Peja grew up in Greece, played for Greece, or has Greek citizenship then I think people would move on.

And a quick google search of "Stojakovic Greek" does show that he has a Greek citizenship (it's in his Wikipedia page)

That still doesn't make that person of that ethnicity. You are always what your parents are. You can't change something like that no matter where you've been living.

There was not one thing false that I posted. I used an exact and direct and proper translation into English. You know what? I think I am just going to ask a moderator about their opinion on your antagonistic posts towards me.

The competition is not low for the point of this that were are talking about here. I have already explained this here. It's low by Euroleague standards. It's low by NBA standards. It's low by Greek standards. It's low by top FIBA standards in Europe like FIBA EuroBasket.

OK, this is what they mean when they say "low competition". Now, I am going to try to explain this another time, in as simple and easy to grasp way I know how, because although I have tried already to explain it in a clear manner, it seems the points are not getting through -

So I will try a simple way. It is lower than those above standards, which are elite basketball standards on a world scale. Alright, I hope you are with me so far...

However, it is definitely, absolutely, 100% positively NOT low, on the standard of NCAA Division I and NBA D-League. It is indeed a HIGH LEVEL competition against THAT standard. The point being, we are talking about the NBA draft, and comparing to other players that play in NCAA competition.

So he is NOT playing against "low level" competition at all as compared to what the NCAA players play against. He's playing HIGH level competition by that standard. Since we are talking about a draft prospect and comparing him to other draft prospects, that is the point and comparison to be used.

I hope that this makes it clear for you. I do not not know how else to explain it if you still do not understand.

Why so serious..?

Saying the same thing in different ways over and over again is no way to back up any of your claims. The article refers to it as low level, and thats all we know of 2nd division Greek leagues.

There was not one thing false that I posted. I used an exact and direct and proper translation into English. You know what? I think I am just going to ask a moderator about their opinion on your antagonistic posts towards me.

You have used quotations to mis quote every single member, probably multiple times. Go back through the forum, I was complaining about it for a long time.

Anyways, if you are right that you translated that quote DIRECTLY, then I want to see the original quote and the original quote's source.

There was not one thing false that I posted. I used an exact and direct and proper translation into English. You know what? I think I am just going to ask a moderator about their opinion on your antagonistic posts towards me.

NO, DON'T CALL A MODERATOR, please don't. We're all going to be in trouble here. We're so sorry, it will never happen again.

The competition is not low for the point of this that were are talking about here. I have already explained this here. It's low by Euroleague standards. It's low by NBA standards. It's low by Greek standards. It's low by top FIBA standards in Europe like FIBA EuroBasket.

OK, this is what they mean when they say "low competition". Now, I am going to try to explain this another time, in as simple and easy to grasp way I know how, because although I have tried already to explain it in a clear manner, it seems the points are not getting through -

So I will try a simple way. It is lower than those above standards, which are elite basketball standards on a world scale. Alright, I hope you are with me so far...

However, it is definitely, absolutely, 100% positively NOT low, on the standard of NCAA Division I and NBA D-League. It is indeed a HIGH LEVEL competition against THAT standard. The point being, we are talking about the NBA draft, and comparing to other players that play in NCAA competition.

So he is NOT playing against "low level" competition at all as compared to what the NCAA players play against. He's playing HIGH level competition by that standard. Since we are talking about a draft prospect and comparing him to other draft prospects, that is the point and comparison to be used.

I hope that this makes it clear for you. I do not not know how else to explain it if you still do not understand.

I do understand....You don't watch NCAA basketball enough. And I'm not even the biggest NCAA fan, but there's a reason the top NBA prospects in the world, and most of the NBA prospects in general, come from the NCAA, as do many players in top level European leagues for that matter.

He IS playign against a low level of competition. You just have to deal with that.